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Written by Pastor Abby Davidson

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.
Romans 12:16

It seems that in the past few weeks I cannot have a conversation without the Blue Jays coming up. Whether we’re going over prayer requests in our small 

group or I’m on the phone with my grandmother, all conversational roads lead to the Jays and how awesome they are. And what else would we talk about? It’s kind of a big deal, right?

Now in my own personal MLB walk I’m somewhere between the bandwagon and true fanship. Four years ago I had no idea that baseball was a thing in Toronto. Then I starting dating my would-be husband and my eyes were opened to a whole new world. He had to attend at least fifteen games a year and listen to or watch every other game. And so I was brought (rather reluctantly) into the world of the Blue Jays. It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to spend four hours of my Saturday afternoon but hey, at least there was popcorn. 
Fast-forward to today and I find that I actually look forward to hearing score updates from my husband, I feel a sense of solidarity with that guy wearing a Jays jersey who just passed me on the street and yes, I am praying for healing for Tulo’s shoulder.* All that to say, I was pretty happy when we won our first game against Baltimore and clinched the AL East. Again, it’s kind of a big deal.

The Jays ad campaign for this season is “Come T.O.gether” and I think it was successful in that they have all of Toronto and likely all of Canada behind them

. In the past month we’ve seen people from all over Canada united in their support for our team and with hopeful excitement that this, God willing, could be the year to end a 22 year World Series drought.

It’s amazing how this team has the ability to stir people’s hearts and unite those who otherwise have little in common.
It would be great if we could “come together” about other, perhaps more serious issues.
In the midst of a federal election it’s easy to focus on what makes us different from others. Our leaders are running their political platforms on those differences and it’s tempting to get so caught up in them that we forget our commonality. After all, we are all made in the image of God and we are all broken people in need of a Saviour. How then, can I relate to those around me who aren’t like me? This is a question that all Christians need to ask at one point. We’re called to be Christ to all people, but how can I do that if I can’t get over the fact that the guy next to me is voting for party X or (gasp!) a Yankees fan?
I had to ask myself this question as I participated in Blythwood’s drop-in program last month. I’ve never done any type of homeless ministry before so as I approached the group of people that had gathered outside the church doors I wondered “what do I talk to them about?”. I’d love to tell y

ou that I was able to share great spiritual insights with them but that wouldn’t be true. I talked about the Jays. 

Over the course of the conversation it struck me that I wasn’t so different from the people I was talking with. We all desire human connection and we all desire a relationship with our Creator, even if we don’t recognize it as such. We also all fall short of God’s glory every day and are in need of his saving grace. Thankfully, that grace is always available to us. 

Let’s make every effort to live in harmony with one another, remembering that though our differences are many, we are all connected by our humanness. The more tightly we cling to our Saviour, the closer we’ll find ourselves to each other.

*edit – since this post was written, Troy Tulowitzki has recovered from his injury… and what a healing it has been! Go Jays Go!